Jindal pitches Obamacare delay

2/24/13 12:15 PM EST

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal has one idea to help avoid the looming sequester: Use Obamacare.

The Republican governor said delaying the expansion of Medicaid and delaying the health care exchanges created under the Affordable Care Act would help find the funds to offset the coming automatic budget cuts.

“You could save tens of billions of dollars there … and you're not even cutting a program that's started yet,” Jindal argued Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “Just delay it for a few years.”

Though unlikely to gain traction, Jindal’s proposal is the governor’s latest attack against the president’s health care law. In particular, Jindal has stood firm against the Medicaid expansion that is a key tenet of the Affordable Care Act.

Still, he refrained from criticizing his fellow GOP governors who have agreed to expanding Medicaid in their states -- Florida Gov. Rick Scott became the latest Republican governor to do so.

“Every governor needs to make the decision that's best for their state,” Jindal said. “For Louisiana, this would cost Louisiana taxpayers over $1 billion over the next 10 years.”

“In Louisiana alone, as many as 180,000 people would be moved from private insurance to Medicaid under this expansion,” Jindal continued. “That doesn't make sense. It is not effective outcomes. It is not an efficient program. We've offered to meet with the president. He has yet to respond to us.”